Marseille winger Florian Thauvin has expressed his anger with former club Lille over his summer transfer saga.
The Frenchman joined Les Phoceens during the transfer window having only made the move to Les Dogues in January before being loaned back to Bastia.
Thauvin has come under criticism for forcing through a move to the Stade Velodrome, but the 20-year-old insists that Lille broke their promises to him.
"I didn't do anything seriously wrong. Normally, I was supposed to join Lille in January when they let me stay at Bastia on loan," Thauvin told reporters. "Nobody knows that. When I was loaned out immediately, I was disappointed. As I only found out at the last minute, I didn't want to stop the transfer from going through.
"I was promised a lot of things, and that's partly why I'm angry with the Lille board. During my loan, I had a great season, I expected to hear from the club, if only to find a place to live. I only heard from Lille when it was announced in the press that Marseille were interested in me. When [Lille president] Michel Seydoux said he would meet me, promised me a pay rise. I didn't ask for anything.
"I simply want to play football, feel good where I am, prove myself on the pitch. If they'd told me to come and play at Marseille for the same salary or even less than that which I got at Bastia, I would have gone without a problem. I want to fulfil my dream."
Thauvin was part of the French team that won the Under-20 World Cup during the summer.
Matt Cotton
